Society for Popular Astronomy

[Andrew INT]

I think this would be a good move to have them banned. UFO's aside, the fire risk during the summer months must be a hazard!

http://news.sky.com/skynews/

(Long link edited by moderator to prevent undue page scrolling)
Andrew
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Skywatcher Explorer 200P on HEQ5 Mount with GOTO upgrade
Canon 350D DSLR, 10x50 Bins

[brian livesey]

The lanterns are a problem and so is the House of Lords. Let's ban both!
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brian

[stefanjcarney]

Stefan Carney likes this.

[brian livesey]

Let's throw in the Commons too!
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brian

[david entwistle]

You can read what was actually said in the House of Lords, which I feel isn't accurately reflected in the Sky report, here. You will find the transcript about one third the way down the page.

Asked By Baroness Fookes:

[Cliff]

Dear Andrew et al(L)
Chinese lanterns are just another irritant to me. Something I have had to live with in recent years.
There is a TGI Friday's quite near here and since opening about 1996 they often fire off "ordinary" balloons, chinese lanterns and fireworks, not to mention occasional lasers.
I recall some years back I was quite pleased (initially) when BBC TV Blue Peter strongly criticised the popularity of letting loose helium party balloons.
To most people they a bit of a laugh but for me when observing they could be a distraction lit up by light pollution and emphasising how much light pollution there is. Not just that, some balloons ended up littering trees and bushes out of reach but littering the area for days, even weeks. However, someone from the toy balloon trade obviously did not like Blue Peter giving them bad publicity. Soon afterwards Blue Peter completely changed tack on the issue. I couldn't help wondering if "the balloon people" had got at Blue Peter ( possibly offering sweetners ? !).
Anyway over the years I have largely got round to accepting I have to live with these various irritants. However, given the choice I would prefer them not to be fired up into our sky (day or night). (I would point out that this is partly my reason for being anti astro-lasers).
Incidentally I personally think suggesting to the general public that
such things are anti-amateur astronomy is counter-productive, A good proportion of the general public are likely to be more interested in reading their birthday signs in the newspapers than much about amateur astronomy - at best to many people we are probably just a bunch of relatively harmless eccentrics.
Best wishes from Cliff

[mike a feist]

On a slightly different note...........if you throw a small bit of paper or card etc in the street you get "done" for littering....if you do the same in the countryside get the same for "flytipping", and quite rightly so....BUT a walk on the local park and hills after Nov 5 (and after all the other evenings that have fireworks) everywhere is covered with their remains.....sticks, cardboard tubes and plastic nosecones etc etc.....apparently that is ok..........maf

[Cliff]

Dear Mike
I totally agree !
There is a scenic car park on top of the Pennines 40 mins drive from here.
A group of us used to go there for night astro observing there. In fact we once observed Hale-Bopp there and the car park became full of visitors after a nearish by pub ("Nant Saras") closed and we let the "drunken hoard" look through our bins and telescopes. Although it might have been foolhardy not to let them ???
Over the last several years the adjacent moor has been bombarded with firework debris . Although 2009 presumably because of the bad weather I think there was non.
Three miles down the road is a farm which for a couple of years was used by a bloke who owned several World War 2 armoured vehicles which could be hired to drive round a course on his land. I suspect the planners eventuall stopped him because the activity suddenly stopped and the farm closed.
Next thing the roadside between the WW2 vehicle place and the scenic car park was littered with old tyres. I once estimated 300 dumped tyres and that happened two or three times. I often suspected the WW2 vehicle enthusisat might have been responsible - but I might have done him an injustice. Ironically not far from there is another farm which seems to be a Legal old tyre collection point but there are probably charges for depositing tyres there.
Best wishes from Cliff

[Davej]

Hi,
They have got it all wrong.
Going along with Mikes "slightly different note" I still seeth when I think
about an incident involving a young nephew.
He had pulled up at some traffic lights and him being a smoker he had his window down and he flicked the ash from his cigarette out of the window
and the police pulled him over and gave him an on the spot fine.
I have been around that area and it is littered with McDonalds cup, cartons, beer cans, you name it.
Sorry for rambling but it still makes me mad to think about it.
Think I'm starting to turn grumpy
ATB
Dave
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[Cliff]

Dear Davej
I might not be popular in saying this and not astronomy either.
But some might claim smoking whilst driving reduces drivers road concentration. But police action does seem to be very hit and miss.
Best wishes from Cliff

[orson]

[orson]

[Cliff]

Dear Orson
Funnily enough I think there are probably enough laws and regulations already but it seems to me they are not enforced satisfactorily.
Although a fine for dropping cigarette ash out of an open car might seem over the top, I have to say that quite a few cardriving smokers dump the trash out of their ash trays on the road rather than put them in the dust-bin at home.
However, I do think UK's society is in decline, but that is just the opinion of an old fogey (or is it fogie).
A well healed TV presenter with a Ferrari was recently advocating removing speed limits at night so he can drive fast. I personally might be inclined to advocate reducing road-lighting.
I suppose some astronomers might think dumping a few hundred old tyres along roadsides is good for the countryside but I find such things deplorable, whether I use the nearby parking facilities for observing at night or just enjoying views of the landscape in broad daylight.
I suppose it could be that a foreign HGV driver might think the old OS map symbol for a "scenic viewpoint" might mean "dump your old tyres here". I'd let them off with a warning !!!!!!!!! Just joking about the warning.
Best of luck from Cliff
PS in the unlikely event of "astronomy being banned" I am fortunate in that there other things I could put my hand to - the drop in secondhand value of my astro-tackle mightnot be appreciated though.

[Astrocomet]

Maybe when the wind is right they could get some of them lanterns to float over and land on the commons and set it a fire...

Chinese lanterns killing cows, pigs sheep etc....

Apart from the succumbed ones they have to pull out of the dykes and ditches or the ones ravaged by hounds and wild cats-don't they do that in the abbotoir?

Its really cruel and terrible what they doo to prawns and oysters the politicians really should step in....
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Colin James Watling
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Astronomer and head of the Comet section for LYRA (Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth Regional Astronomers) also head of K.A.G (Kessingland Astronomy Group) and Navigator (Astrogator) of the Stars (Fieldwork)
Web: http://lyra.freewebsites.com/
www.lyrandgyastronomers.blogspot.com/

[Astrocomet]